Professor Rowan H Harwood is a geriatrician at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, and the University of Nottingham, with particular interests in delirium, dementia and end of life care, who maintains an active portfolio of research. He tweets @RowanHarwood Can exercise-based therapy prevent or delay disability and dependency in those in the early stages of dementia? […]

So to compliment my role as a case manager and group facilitator with older adults, I have a mission and purpose in the areas of death and dying.

Not a topic most want to think about or even contemplate, but in order to be born, we will die one day.

For many, death and dying seems years away and for some, they do not fear death and it could come tomorrow.

An idea I came up with is to raise awareness for the topics of death, dying, and end of life and a way to combines all my interests: create a race that combines walkers, runners/joggers, and cyclers. I am a cycler and once April is here, cycle right through October…walkers could even bring their dogs!

Thoughts? Participants would pay a fee or raise money to be used specifically for the goal of raising awareness about death and dying.

What does that mean? Resource information, training materials, books, checklists and the sharing of ideas along with education on the topic for professionals, students, older adults, families, caregivers, etc.

Julie and I just published a book on this very topic and we know there are many out there like us who support this topic.

We attempt to describe real life issues and circumstances, and we discuss ways to proactively deal with them. Useful training, resource, and reference material are also included. Death, dying, and end of life are topics many prefer to avoid. This book suggests that we benefit from having frank discussions, living life to the fullest, and planning for our own journey’s end, whenever that may be. Everyone who is born eventually will die, whether or not we want to embrace that fact.

Though few of us know when we will die, we and our family or friends can be well prepared. We can have discussions and create written directives for what we want if we are unable to verbally state them ourselves. Do we want life support? Do we want interventions that may or may not have any benefit to our quality of life if we are in the hospital or in an accident? Do we want to be involved in planning our funeral, memorial, or celebration of life?

The submissions within are from professionals in the field of death and bereavement support and from laypeople, all of whom share stories of dying family members, friends, clients, and patients. Julie and I, the coauthors of this book, also share stories from our personal and professional experiences.

‘Journey’s End’ is a broadly comprehensive book about death, dying, and the end of life.

If interested in participating or you have ideas about how to organize such an event, please contact me: northernmsw@gmail.com

I am thinking next summer to give time for participants to train, but the goal is not a race, but awareness raising oriented.

This is awesome news and more hospitals should do this! Care beds for older adults and rapid assessment and treatment. Thoughts?

Beverley Marriott is a Advanced nurse practitioner working in the Birmingham community healthcare foundation trust. She is also a King’s College Older Person Fellow. There continues to be a growing emphasis on older people and emergency hospital admissions, with Frailty often used as a ‘wrap’ around term for ‘older people’. Older people with multiple complex […]

Another article I have to share as I have worked with older adults/seniors for 17 years. My past work was with youth and families and adults with mental health issues, but my passion is older adults!

This is a great article with excellent information-take a look!

Dr Rajvinder Samra is a Chartered Psychologist working as a Lecturer in Health and Social Care at The Open University. She enjoys researching the influence of attitudes and personality in medical settings and tweets at @RajvinderSamra Read her Age and Ageing Paper. Social psychologists have been interested in attitudes for about 90 years now. Debate […]

Zoe Harris cared for her husband at home before his dementia reached a stage where she was unable to cope, and he spent his final months in a care home. As a result of that experience, Zoe developed a range of communication tools to ensure that carers were aware of his needs and preferences, and […]

Like this:

Experts discuss the coverup of doctor suicides, the reasons behind depression in doctors, and why doctors who are depressed are less likely than normal to get help. via 16-24 Segment 1: Doctor Suicide — Radio Health Journal

“Many doctors are depressed–experts say about 12 to 18 percent of them, a figure that’s actually similar to the rest of us. But depressed doctors often don’t get help, and it results in a suicide rate that’s between two and five times higher than the general public.”

We expect that physicians are strong in body and mind and deal with high work loads and stressful work situations on a regular basis. “Doctors are supposed to be the people we go to for safe keeping of our health and I think it’s really hard for people to view doctors as being fallible and having the same flaws and pain and suffering as everyone else.”

So, a shift is needed in the thinking of society at large, in medical schools in medical establishments; hospitals, clinics, etc. Physicians are human. Assistance should be readily available without it being seen as weak or wrong for one to access it, but it goes further in that medical schools should be teaching self-care, the need for vacations, guidance in that it is ok for a doctor or nurse to seek help if needed with no judgement.